Cruelty of Fate

Bridget was relieved to be given something to do other than stand there and be useless as the poor mundane died before the eyes. Without hesitation, she helped Vanessa pick Mikki up, and together the two carried the beaten and bruised girl back to the Institute as gently as possible, all while moving as fast as they could, a sense of urgency about them.As Mikki's blood stained Bridget's shirt, the Shadowhunter had a sinking feeling that it was fresh blood from a deadly wound, and not merely residual. Bridget's pulse quickened, and the thought of yet another person dying at this Institute on her watch horrified her. Biting her lip in worry and terror, the faint taste of blood snapped her back to her senses, and Bridget was again focused on the task before her, forcing her panic aside.Vanessa shouted for Olivia as the two girls carried Mikki to the infirmary, gently laying her down on a bed as one of the heads of the Institute walked in.Bridget had never felt so out of place as she watched Olivia and Vanessa work to bandage up Mikki's gaping chest wound and other cuts and bruises. Bridget stood in the corner and tried to stay out of the way, almost wishing there were some demons she could fight off somewhere.After what seemed like an eternity, Olivia let out a sigh of relief. "I think I've got her now. There's not much more we can do." She thanked Vanessa for helping, pulled up a chair and sat next to Mikki's bed.

Vanessa was amazed at the speed with which they'd carried Mikki. It was probably more just Vanessa's mind skimming over the unimportant bits, but she and Bridget seemed to have reached the Infirmary in mere seconds. Olivia was no where to be found there, so, after making sure Bridget had Mikki well in hand, Vanessa raced back into the hallway. She didn't have to look for long. She nearly ran headlong into the woman, after rounding a sharp corner. It turned out that Olivia only had to glimpse the blood on her clothing to understand Vanessa's reason for urgency. For the first time, Vanessa glimpsed Olivia's Shadowhunter speed, as she retraced the steps back to the Infirmary.The next hour was one of the most terrifying Vanessa had ever lived through. Mikki had been placed on one of the many, starkly white cots, the color making her blood that much more startling. Olivia was by her side in the space of a breath, checking her pulse and temperature in one graceful motion. Vanessa had grabbed a handful of jars at the Head's request. Mikki's chest had been bared in that time, making the wound seem that much more grisly. Olivia had grabbed one of the jars, muttering under her breath. Sticking her pale hand into the dark contents of the jar, Olivia pulled out a small handful of the substance and covered the wound with it. Almost immediately, the powder reacted with the still flowing blood, becoming more of a paste before hardening into a patch right before Vanessa's eyes. "That's stopped the blood for now, but we'll need to wait a bit longer for it to stave off any infection before we can stitch her back up. I assume you know how to set a dislocated shoulder. Do that, while I tend to the other smaller wounds," Olivia ordered, her voice strong and cool as she went to get her tools for suturing. Vanessa's heart had never beat so fast as it did in the moment that she yanked Mikki's shoulder back in place. The girl didn't even moan. After Vanessa had placed a splint on Mikki's arm and shoulder and Olivia had stitched up the multiple gashes, it was time to remove the paste. Vanessa had to keep herself when the now grayish wound was revealed. Olivia barely blinked. She made quick work of seeing up the wound, making it all look so easy. "The tough part was whether or not she was going to respond positively to that powder. It was not meant for her kind, but she would have died in minutes if I hadn't risked it," Olivia admitted, as she pulled the blanket over Mikki's newly bandaged chest. The girls breathing had finally leveled out, but her skin was still as pale as a ghost's. Olivia sat back in a chair with an exhausted sigh, both hands pressed to her temples. "I think I've got her now. There's not much else we can do," Olivia announced, her eyes now more clearly focused on her patient. Vanessa, however, was still running on the last fumes of her adrenaline, and busied herself with finding a cold compress for the girl's black eye. After that was found and placed on Mikki, Vanessa started a quest for a small bowl she could fill with water and clean Mikki with.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The brightness of the room threw his vision for a whirl momentarily, but it quickly righted itself. Derek turned right and left, frantically searching the beds. One bed was occupied, but Derek's mind only lingered long enough to ascertain that the bed's owner was not Bridget. Then where was she? Spotting a dark shape cloistered in the far corner, Derek rushed over to it and immediately recognized Bridget. Relief flowed through him like a drug, enveloping her in a tight embrace, only wanting to hold her close. "God, Bridget! You're alive! I saw blood on Vanessa's shirt and thought it was yours," Derek said, his words muffled by her hair. As his heart beat slowed back down, Derek realized that that blood had to have belonged to someone. With his arms still loosely locked around Bridget, Derek turned back to the occupied bed and took a much longer look at the person in it. Even though a good bit of her face was covered, that blonde hair couldn't belong to anyone else. His eyes close instinctually, wanting to block out the sight of proud Mikki so utterly broken. It was all so sick.